Nelson & His World

A while ago we had a thread about whether Nelson acted as godfather to Maria Wall/Freeman at her christening while he was acting Lieutenant of the Worcester in 1777. The consensus here was that it was unlikely that any baptisms on board ship would be recorded in the ship’s log.

Recently, I have had to revise my opinion on that. To my surprise, I have come across no less than five baptisms recorded in the Captain’s Log of the Kent during the three year period that Charles Feilding was captain from 1772 to 1775. During that time the Kent was a guard-ship moored in the Hamoaze at Plymouth for long periods. Feilding clearly felt that he should make an ‘official’ record of the baptisms and wrote the entries in the same way that they might be recorded in a church register, for example: Interestingly, the ship was probably moored within sight of Stoke Damerel church, John Quinn’s parish.

In December 1774 there were two baptisms on consecutive days. Feilding was very careful in his choice of words when recording the second:
On the 5th April 1775, John, the son of another marine, John Chapman, was baptized. But just in case you are building too much of a picture of domestic tranquillity, it is worth noting that a month later John Chapman received 12 lashes for overstaying his leave on shore and selling his clothes – no doubt to fund a few more drinks!

Perhaps Feilding was the only captain in the Royal Navy to record baptisms – Or are ships logs a more important genealogical resource than we had realised?

Tony:

I quoted the extract below in response to a previous post you made regarding births on warships, but I have now underlined the mention of a 'baptism certificate'. I wonder if there is any record in the Minotaur's log about this baptism; or would it have taken place ashore? If so, where? Is there an Anglican church in Leghorn?


Frederick Lloyd, in his 1806 biography of Nelson, records the birth of a baby aboard Minotaur in the bay of Leghorn. The mother was a washerwoman and the father a seaman aboard the ship and their son was named Horatio Nelson. The events were narrated by a Colonel Tyrwhitt, who observed a little boy playing in Plymouth not long after Nelson's death, and heard his friends call him 'Nelson'. On further enquiry, the mother produced a baptism certificate from Leghorn, signed by Nelson and Sir William and Lady Hamilton. 'His Lordship, when he stood sponsor,' records Lloyd, 'promised, when he grew up, to give the boy a nautical education and put him to sea. When he sailed for England, he desired these poor people to write to him when they should be settled, but this, through ignorance, they had neglected to do.'


It doesn't require a priest to baptise a child; anyone may do it, particularly if the child seems likely not to live. Perhaps mothers did this privately if the ship did not carry a chaplain and baptisms were recorded only if there were a chaplain on board to perform the ceremony? Speculating, as usual!

Anna, there is a more detailed account of the washerwoman's son born on board the Minotaur in the Naval Chronicle for December 1805 (vol 14), which states that the baptism had been at the British Factory Chapel, Leghorn, in July 1800, and was attested by the Clergyman, Rev. Mr. Cummins.

For what it is worth, Lord and Lady Cochrane had two of their children christened on "Andromache" off Callao, Peru in January 1821 by the frigate's Anglican Chaplain the Rev Thomas Taylor. The event was recorded in "Andromache"'s log.

Whether this was par for the baptismal course, or whether the fame of the parents made this particular one a significant event worth recording, I do not know.

Brian